Duchess Jill
by FenrisFenrir89
Summary: FE10: Post Radiant Dawn: Chapter eight: The Coronation :The exciting ending! Jill is dubbed Duchess of Talrega by Micaiah in an exquisite ceremony. But does that mean the end of her life with Haar? multiple pairings.
1. The Secret

**Okay so this is intended to be a series of interrelated snippets revolving around Jill gaining reign over Talrega. Yes I know Micaiah ceded it to her so she'd actually be more like a "queen" but being Talrega isn't much of anything I thought it more appropriate that Jill be made Duchess whereas she would have control over her territory but ultimately still have to answer to that crazy Micaiah. Which may or may not actually come into play in this story. And I should also note that this story really isn't all that serious. It's actually pretty silly. **

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Just Jill and Haar in this one**

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #01: The Secret

Jill pushed open the door as quietly as she could manage with her free hand, allowing no more than a low barely audible creak to emit from the hinges. She peered through the opening into the dark room, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Detecting no signs of life, she proceeded to enter into the house. Her feet, clad only in socks, padded softly on the wood floor as she had removed her boots outside and left them on the doorstep. Silence was the key. She needed only to get down the hallway undetected, and then she would be in the clear. She took a deep breath and clutched the dark cloth that occupied her hand tightly to her chest and slowly—very slowly—began to push the door shut behind her with her other hand. She heard the faint click and let out her breath. It seemed as though she would be successful—and then it hit her. The house was completely silent. There was no snor—

"Hey."

Jill froze at the sound of the voice. She told herself not to panic. She had to think quickly—a dim light engulfed the room. A lantern had been lit. She reached back and nervously scratched the back of her neck under her ponytail as she was stared down by a rather intimidating man with an eyepatch. "Oh, Uh…Hello Haar," she responded with a sheepish smile. "I…um….thought you were asleep. Heh …heh."

"Hmmm…"His lazy eye looked her over. "What's that?"

Jill drew in a sharp breath and quickly pulled her arm holding the dark cloth behind her back. "Wh-what's what? I'm the only one here." She looked around as if expecting someone to be standing next to or behind her.

Haar folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his brow, clearly not amused. "I can see that. But what is it that you're holding?"

Jill's felt her face flush "What?! I don't have anything!" She backed against the door. He moved closer to her and she realized she had no way of escaping.

"Now Jill, I know your father didn't raise you to be a liar, "He scolded as he closed the space between them. Jill couldn't tell if his tone was serious or mocking—she never could tell. He placed a hand on the door next to her head and leaned in so he was staring her directly in the eye. She bit her lip and pressed her back against the door as flat as she possibly could. Her cheeks flushed even more—he was awfully close. And then his lips twitched and twisted into a wicked smirk. "AHA!" He yelled as he yanked the cloth from behind her.

"No!!!" Jill screamed and reached for it, but it was too late. He had already maneuvered out of the way and she stumbled nearly falling to the floor. Haar began to unfold the cloth curiously. Jill ran up to him and tried to take it back, but he kept moving his back to her so she couldn't reach it. "NO! GIVE IT BACK! GIVE IT BACK!" Jill screeched desperately, grabbing his arm and shaking it.

"What the…?"

Jill felt her heart sink. He had seen it. It was too late—she was done for. The embarrassment was too much for her to bear. She looked down at her feet, defeated.

"It's a dress." Haar held up the dark cloth. Sure enough it was knee-length halter-type dress fringed with lace and a frilly sash with a rose décor. He looked at her quizzically. "Why…?"

Jill sighed. There was no use in hiding it anymore. It was bound to get out eventually. She averted her eyes, choosing to stare at a blemish on wood floor as she answered, "Well…my coronation as Duchess of Talrega is next week and since it's a formal event Queen Micaiah insists I wear a dress. So…so I bought one." She waited for him to say something, anything really, but he remained silent. She looked up at him, fire in her eyes. "It wasn't my idea and I didn't really have a choice so don't make fun of me!"

Haar's eye widened with astonishment, "Huh? Why would I…?"

"GIVE ME THAT!" Jill snatched the dress from his hands and wadded it up under her arm. He stared at her blankly. This only seemed to anger her more. "I _am_ a lady in case you haven't noticed! And it is perfectly acceptable for a lady to wear a dress!" she growled. Haar continued to stare at her, completely dumbfounded. "Good day to you. Hmph!" she turned her nose up to him as she walked past.

"…" Haar watched her strut down the hallway to her room and slam the door. He looked around, wondering what exactly had just taken place. He had just wanted to know why she was sneaking in. It wasn't like he really cared what she was doing in the late hours of the night, it just seemed weird she felt the need to be all secretive about…a dress? He took one last look at her door before settling down on the floor against the wall. "YAWN…whatever, I'm going back to sleep. ZzzZzz"


	2. Looking Good

**Sequel to "The Secret" occurs a few days after Jill's purchase of a dress for her coronation as Duchess of Talrega**

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Just Jill and Haar in this one. Though Jill does think about Mist and Micaiah. **

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #02: Looking Good

"Gyah! It's no good!" Jill furrowed her brow in frustration and yanked the pins out of her crimson hair. Nothing she did with her long locks looked right and there were only five days left until her coronation. She was standing in front of the mirror wearing the dress she had purchased only days earlier. She already had several issues with it: First off, it was backless which made her feel too exposed; Also, the neckline was _way _too low making her feel even more exposed; If that wasn't enough, the blasted thing was trimmed in lace and had a frilly flowery sash which was _way_ too girly for her tastes; And now, she couldn't get her darned hair to look even half-way decent. She sighed, a ridiculously loud and angry sigh, but she was the only one there so no one would care if she was a bit over dramatic. So maybe she picked out the dress herself, and maybe she tried it on before she bought it, and maybe Mist was coming tomorrow to help her make altercations and could probably help her with her hair too. Jill knew all of these things but, she had been so frustrated and confused lately. It all started when she came home after Micaiah announced that she, Jill Fizzart, would be given reign over Talrega. As soon as she had told Haar the news, he…

"Hey! You…uh..you…YAWN…you home Jill?"

"…He's back," Jill muttered to herself angrily. "He's back!" Jill smiled cheerily to herself. "Hmph. He's back, "Jill pouted. She stared at herself in the mirror and shook her head, "You my friend, are so dumb." As if Haar would actually care if she cared that he had returned from a delivery. She sighed, a real one this time. She turned to leave and go greet her former commander/business partner/roommate/friend (dare she call him that?) when she caught a side-glance in the mirror, scarcely recognizing the beautiful young woman who glanced back. She stopped and turned back, transfixed. She didn't look half bad. In fact, she figured she might even look drop-dead gorgeous. She wondered…

Haar half said/half yawned something else, Jill couldn't be sure if he said _I guess she isn't here_ or _I can't find my underwear_ (she hoped it was the former). She ran a brush through her hair, straightening out the knots left from the tangled up pins and gave herself one last look over. Satisfied, she headed out into the hall. Haar looked surprised to see her (probably from having decided she wasn't home, confirming Jill's first deciphering of his mumblings was indeed correct). "How come you didn't answer," he seemed a bit irritated. He may have been glaring at her, but it was hard to tell with the eye patch and all.

Jill ignored his question and twirled around in circles, finally stopping directly in front of him. "Well, what do you think?"

Haar gave her a quizzical look, "About what?"

Jill rolled her eyes in annoyance, "How I look."

"Oh."

An awkward silence filled the moments that followed. Haar stared at the wall behind her rather uncomfortably. Jill finally got fed up with waiting for a response and cleared her throat.

"Well?"

Haar glanced her over quickly and shrugged, "You look nice."

"…nice?" Disappointment engulfed Jill, threatening to smother her like one of the Talregan mud slides. She didn't even try to hide it, letting her shoulders sag and her head hang. It wasn't like she expected him to say that she looked, as she put it, "drop-dead gorgeous". She didn't even expect him to say "radiant" or "beautiful" or one of those big fancy words she was certain he had never uttered in his life. All she wanted was a simple "pretty". Was that so much to ask? She would've settled for a "great" or even a mere "good". But "You look _nice_"? Nice was so….so completely horrid. Nice was your grandmother in her Sunday clothes, Nice was a set of fine china, Nice was well-bred wyvern, but Nice was not how she looked. If there was anything Jill was certain of at that moment, it was that she was not _Nice_.

Haar stretched his arm back behind his head and yawned, "…yeah, considering." He walked past her and opened the door to his bedroom.

Jill's head snapped up. _Considering?_ She was a bit baffled by this statement. It was a simple question she had asked him and she could not figure out what about the way she looked could warrant consideration. She followed him into his room. He walked to his bed and began shuffling the pillows around to achieve maximum comfort.

"Considering what?" she implored.

"You know, what you normally look like."

There were no words to properly describe the rage of the fiery-haired young woman. But Haar got a vague idea when a hand-axe (which had been sitting upon his dresser) hurled across the room and imbedded itself within his headboard a mere inch away from his ear. Had she not been so overcome with emotion it is likely she would not have missed. Haar had but a moment to contemplate this when he was pulled from his thoughts by the abrupt and wood-splintering slam of his door.


	3. An Earful

**Sequel to "The Secret" and "Looking Good"; occurs the day after the previous story.**

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Mist, Jill and Haar **

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #03: An Earful

Mist shivered slightly as she walked down the path towards Jill's house. She had forgotten how cold it could get in Talrega. She wondered if she should have packed warmer clothing for the trip, but decided it was too late and she could always borrow something of Jill's if need be (the girl did seem to have a remarkable collection of yellow sweaters). As the house came into view, Mist began to skip merrily, swinging her basket of needles and thread and whistling a Heron tune she heard once from Leanne. When she finally reached the front door, Mist lifted her hand to knock but was startled as it immediately opened.

"Ahhh!" she screamed as a dark foreboding figure loomed over her. It took her a moment to realize that it was Haar standing in the doorway. Feeling quite silly, Mist let out a sigh of relief and smiled warmly, "Oh, my. You startled me. I apologize for screaming, you can be very intimidating." Haar just stared at her. "Um…not that you're scary-looking or anything, I mean, you're not…or well, not really, and I _am_ very skittish, so uh…hmm, right. Well, then." Haar didn't seem to hear a word of what she said. Mist wondered if he had forgotten who she was. "So um, Sir Haar, I—that is to say, Mist, you remember me don't you? You know Ike's little sister? I'm a Valkyrie with the Greil Mercenaries…I fought in two wars with you…." Still no response. She sighed, "Anyway, I'm here to see Jill. I'm sure she must have told you I was coming."

"You're in my way."

"I..what?" Mist didn't quite comprehend what the man had just said. Frankly, she was a bit surprised he spoke at all.

"Move or _I'll_ move you," Haar replied sternly. Mist was fairly certain he was glaring at her.

"Oh, um, sorry," Mist stepped to the side and Haar pushed past her and headed down the path. He seemed a bit rushed. Mist stood there for a moment watching him. "Well that was…rude."

"Mist? Is that you?" A voice called from the open doorway. Mist turned around quickly and smiled when she saw her friend. "I'm so glad you made it," Jill smiled back, but Mist detected some sadness in the red-haired girl's voice. She wondered if Haar had been rude to her as well.

"So what's the deal with your roommate? He seems to be in quite the hurry this morning," Mist prodded subtly.

"Oh _that_. He's just on his way to the Apothecary for me."

"My goodness! Are you ill?" Mist rushed over to her friend's side a placed a hand upon her forehead. The action brought back the morning's memories and Jill quickly brushed the hand away.

"No, no…he just thinks I am." Judging from the baffled look upon Mist's face, Jill knew that a better explanation was required. She groaned as she realized she was going to have to relive the embarrassing morning.

_Jill knew she had been acting the fool the past couple of days. There were just so many emotions running through her that she had a hard time controlling herself. Maybe Haar had been acting like a jerk, but not any more or less than usual—nothing warranting an axe through the skull leastways. Despite the damage it would do to her pride, Jill decided that she had to apologize—it was what her father, the late General Shiharam, would've done. Taking a deep breath Jill rapped upon the splintered door with her fist. Much to her surprise it opened—she had been prepared to bang as loud as she could and yell at the top of her lungs (what was typically required to arise her former Captain). But sure enough the door swung inwards and Haar stood before her in nothing but a loose-fitting pair of slacks, his hair disheveled and his eye-patch slightly crooked. _

"_Mornin' Jill," He yawned, lifting his arms back behind his head and stretching. Jill couldn't take her eyes off of him. Now on any other, normal day Jill would have replied 'Well aren't you up early, Captain' with a chuckle before proceeding to state her business (in this case the apology for the previous night's events) to which he would shrug off as if it were nothing and then the two would settle into their normal morning routines. However, for reasons beyond Jill's comprehension, today was not a normal day. She was transfixed. By what exactly one might inquire and for lack of a better word Jill could only concede that it must have been his body. It was aesthetically pleasant, no one could deny that. But why was this fact just now coming to her attention? And how on earth did someone of his age who does nothing but sleep all the time manage to keep it that way? "Hey, you feeling alright?" Haar placed his hand upon her forehead and Jill suddenly became aware of a warmness in her cheeks. "You face is all red, and you're warm to the touch." _

_Jill wanted to back away from him, wanted to shout that it was nothing and she had things to do, but all she managed to do was nod dumbly at him. _

"_Hmmm…I better get you some medicine. Wouldn't want you in poor health for your coronation," and with that Haar pulled on a shirt and headed towards the door._

Mist started to giggle as Jill finished her story. Jill glared at her. Mist laughed "What? I think it's sweet. I suppose I can forgive his rudeness since it was only because he was soooo worried about _you_."

Jill snorted, "He's not worried about how I feel. He's just worried I won't be well enough to leave."

Mist stopped laughing, seeing the saddened look upon her friends face—despite the fact that Jill was trying to act annoyed/angry. "Leave? I…I don't understand."

Jill looked at the floor. She didn't know what it was about Mist, but she always seemed to pour her heart out to the girl. "When I went to Nevassa to see Micaiah and she told me she wanted me to take over Talrega, I was shocked, I suppose. And overjoyed…I mean, I love this place—I grew up here, my whole life is here—to be given the opportunity to care for it just seemed…so perfect. And when I came back everybody else was happy too. All the townsfolk would come up to me and congratulate me and tell me they could think of no one better for the job. They even brought me gifts and offered their services free of charge to me. They said they were grateful that I would rule them now instead of some power-hungry royal. Everyone was so happy for me…everyone but Haar."

Mist didn't say anything, but handed Jill a handkerchief to wipe her tear-brimmed eyes.

"When I came home and I told him that I was going to be Duchess he just looked away for a while, then frowned and told me that I should move out. I told him that even though I was going to be Duchess, I'd still help him with the deliveries when I could—but he said that didn't matter to him. Then I started to cry and he got up and left the room. He…he hasn't said anything about it since and he's barely even spoken to me since," at this point Jill couldn't hold it in any longer and she burst into tears. Mist ran over to her and put her arms around her friend. "I—I think it's because he hates politicians…I think maybe since I'm going to be one now he hates me too."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Mist patted Jill on the back soothingly. "No one could hate you."

"T-then why does he want me to leave?" Jill sobbed into her friend's shoulder.

"I don't know," Mist frowned. "But I promise you, I'll find out."


	4. Some Friendly Advice

**Author's notes: Um…continuation of the story. I only plan on making it seven chapters long because, well, if I make it any longer than that I won't ever finish it--mainly because I'm a student…but probably more so because I'm lazy.**

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Mist, Lethe, Jill and Haar**

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #04: Some Friendly Advice

"_He said what_?" Lethe hissed angrily through her clenched teeth.

"_Shhhhh!_" Mist shushed her laguz friend and pointed down the hall. Jill's door was wide open and the wyvern knight's whistling could be heard coming from within. "Don't let her hear you. I sort of promised I wouldn't say anything," she added sheepishly. Lethe was irked but remained silent. The orange-haired cat laguz had arrived that afternoon much to Jill's delight. The two were extremely close, having gained a mutual respect for the different races through one another's friendship; however, Jill tended to omit Lethe from her emotional dilemmas (_And with good reason_, Mist noted) as laguz were not exactly known for subtlety. With no one else around to aide her, Mist decided to divulge the previous day's gossip to the rowdy cat-girl. "Look, I'm only telling you because I need your help. I want to find out exactly why he wants her to go, but I don't think he'll just come out and say it, you know?"

"I see," Lethe smiled, baring her sharp teeth. "You want my negotiation expertise. Heh heh, very well. I shall give him a proper Laguz beating and if that does not work, I will claw out his good eye."

"Oh no, Lethe! Don't do that! I really just want to talk to him."

"Hmph," Lethe crossed her arms over her chest and sneered. "Laguz are not _talkers_."

"I know," Mist sighed. "I'll do most of the talking. I just need you there with me for…um…moral support."

"You want me to intimidate him, no?" Lethe raised an eyebrow knowingly.

"Yes, but without any violence. Is that doable?"

"Fine," Lethe was clearly unhappy with the plan, but decided that it would be better to go along with it than to be left out. There were only three days left until Jill's coronation ceremony. Rather than busy herself with preparations, Jill busied herself with aiding the townsfolk much like her father used to do. Today she was going to help some of the farmers tend to their crops. It had been a harsh winter and they were struggling to salvage enough food to feed their families. As soon as Jill departed, Mist and Lethe seized the opportunity of her absence to confront Haar.

Haar was, to no one's surprise, asleep. Today he was napping underneath a big oak tree, with several small, undelivered parcels scattered at his feet.

"Ahem," Lethe cleared her throat and waited. Haar didn't so much as twitch.

"Please wake up Sir Haar," Mist tapped him gently on the shoulder. Haar grunted and rolled over onto his side so that he was facing away from them.

Losing what little patience she had, Lethe dug her claw-like nails into his shoulder and shook him violently, growling as she did so. "Rowrrr! Awaken one-eyed beorc!"

Haar finally opened his eye after several minutes of Lethe's onslaught and sat up with a yawn. He looked around a bit disoriented before his attentions fell upon the claw-ripped cloth of his shirt. He eyed his shoulder suspiciously and looked up at Lethe, and then disregarding the steaming cat laguz, Haar turned his attentions to Mist. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh. Um, well we—that is Lethe and I—were wondering if we could have a word with you," Mist clasped her hands nervously behind her back, "if that wouldn't be too much trouble."

"_I assure you there will be trouble_," Lethe hissed under her breath. Mist nudged the laguz with her elbow and Lethe fell silent.

Haar shrugged, "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Well it's just that the other day…" Mist trailed off. She wasn't exactly sure how to start off. She thought it best not to begin with accusations or to initially pass judgment upon him.

"Oh yeah," Haar smiled apologetically. "Sorry 'bout my abruptness yesterday. I'm not exactly the most well-mannered guy when I'm half-asleep."

"Huh?" it took Mist a moment to remember what he was talking about. "Oh, right. Um, no, that's not really why I—we're here."

Picking up on her delayed mindset, Haar got a glint of playfulness in his eye. "Now I thought you girls were here for Jill's ceremony. Not very good friends if you ask me. Using poor Jill to get at an old washed-up soldier," he scolded disapprovingly as he clasped his hands behind his head and leaned back against the tree.

"We are here for Jill!" Mist insisted, "I just meant why we were _here_, right now."

"_He knows what you meant_," Lethe growled at Mist, who was playing into Haar's mockery of them.

"I'm only teasing," Haar smiled.

Mist blushed, "Oh."

"Seriously though," Haar said, almost unintelligibly with a yawn. "What's troubling you? And, uh, why does it concern me?"

"_This concerns Jill_. We have little interest in _you_, lazy beorc, except for when _you_ cause trouble for _our_ Jill," Lethe scowled. She was on the verge of losing her temper. How could he be so nonchalant about this? He was acting as though they were a nuisance. Hey may have been acting "nice" to them, but Lethe knew what he was really thinking. She had half a mind to transform that moment and rip out his intestines with her teeth.

"Your Jill, huh?" Haar laughed. "Pray tell, what trouble have I endowed upon _your Jill_?"

"_This is no laughing matter, you beorc scum_!" Lethe would have pounced upon the reclined figure at her feet if not for Mist, struggling to hold the laguz at bay.

"Lethe, _please_! You're overreacting. He doesn't even know why we're here yet," Mist scolded. Lethe stopped writhing and settled back into her previous stance. But she didn't take her narrowed eyes off of Haar. She was waiting for him to make one wrong move. Then, she'd have her chance.

Haar didn't even seem phased by the laguz girl's outburst. In fact, he made very little recognition of Lethe's presence at all. Mist wondered if he still held resentment for Lethe's race—he had been raised in Begnion where they kept laguz as slaves, then as a soldier he resided in Daein where (before the war and outlawing) they had hunted the laguz for sport. Mist composed herself and began again, making sure to speak slowly and annunciate every word, "The other day, Jill told me that you told her that you wanted her to move out."

"Okay," was Haar's simple reply.

"Well…did you?" Mist asked, dread dominating her voice.

"Why would she tell you I did if I didn't?"

"…She wouldn't."

"_Of course she wouldn't_! Jill does not play mind games like you do, beorc scum!" Lethe spat. Both Haar and Mist ignored her.

"I just mean, well, you didn't really mean it did you? You can't possibly _want_ her to go…can you?" Mist's eyes pleaded with the man before her.

Haar was silent. He couldn't quite bring himself to look Mist in the eyes. It was too similar to that night he told Jill to move out; her eyes had the very same pleading desperation. So instead he looked upwards to the clear blue sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight today. It would have been a good day for a nap under the oak tree. Haar stood up and stretched, keeping his eye to the sky. He couldn't be angry with them—he couldn't even be annoyed at them. They were just looking out for their friend. They were just looking out for Jill—something he had dedicated the last several years of his life to. But things were changing as they were bound to do. Most changes were miniscule and didn't really upset the order of things. But some are life-changing, like the Battle at Riven where General Shiharam laid down his life; like the Mad King Ashnard's death at the hands of the great hero, Ike; like the awakening and defeat of the Goddess Ashera; and like now. Haar exhaled slowly, and then lowered his eye to meet with Mist's. "It's not about what I want."

Lethe seethed with anger, "You speak riddles, beorc! Tell us why! Why do you make mockery of Jill's feelings? Why do you toy with her so?"

Haar regarded the laguz for the first time. Mist realized his previous ignorance towards Lethe was not because of distaste or racist sentiments, but rather, because he had known all along why they had come to see him this day and he had known that Lethe would not understand. Mist understood though, as she watched Haar look upon Lethe and shake his head sadly before walking away towards the house. She didn't know why exactly he wanted to separate himself from Jill; but, she did know he held no hatred for her red-haired friend and honestly believed he was doing what was best for her.

"Growrrr!" Lethe leapt after Haar. "You dare walk away? You dare turn your back?" Haar took no notice of her and kept walking. "Beorc fool! Why do you not care that she loves you?" She screeched.

At that statement Haar faltered; for a brief moment he stopped dead in his tracks. It was not as if he hadn't known. He had, for quite a while in fact. But something about hearing someone say it aloud made it seem more real than ever. _Jill loved him_. Yet her feelings towards him were of little significance and whether or not he returned those feelings was of no matter, he reminded himself. He continued walking.

Lethe—who had experienced a temporary burst of triumph at Haar's hesitation—fell to her knees amongst discarded parcels, completely and utterly defeated. Mist walked up behind her and placed a comforting hand upon her back. Lethe looked up, her eyes burning with tears, "He does not care!" Mist shook her head. "He does not!" Lethe insisted.

Mist watched the fading figure of the wyvern lord thoughtfully. "I believe," she smiled down at Lethe, "that he cares more than any of us."

"Why would you think _that_?" Lethe snorted.

"Well," Mist began to explain, the smile never fading from her face, "It seems like we just care about how Jill's feeling right _now_. Sir Haar, on the other hand, seems to care about more than just now."

"How so?"

"Hmm…I'm not really sure," Mist giggled happily. "But not to worry Lethe. That just means we've reason to hope. I'm certain everything will work itself out in the end."

Lethe glowered at the young healer. She could not comprehend the girl's good-hearted optimism in the slightest.


	5. The Voice of Reason

**Author's notes: So this chapter was originally titled "Some Friendly Advice" which I ended up using for the previous chapter (although…no one really gave or received any advice in the last chapter…I think initially I was going to have Lethe belting out death threats but never got around to it. Ah well). The advice is in this one, but I changed the title to "The Voice of Reason" due to the irony implied seeing as that voice belongs to none other than Makalov. ******

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Haar, Makalov, Jill, Marcia, Astrid,**

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #05: The Voice of Reason

Marcia's pegasus hadn't even touched the ground when she leapt off and ran to Jill, grabbing the unsuspecting duchess-to-be in a tight bear hug. Minutes later Astrid dismounted from her horse and joined in the affectionate greeting, pulling both Jill and Marcia into her arms. Haar couldn't help but smile as he looked on—everyone really did adore Jill. The red-headed wyverness blushed as the two Crimean knights flaunted over her. Haar chuckled to himself, _she's so modest. _It seemed like such a change from the young girl who used to do anything she could for attention, always trying desperately to impress her father.

"Is that a major turn-on or what?" a familiar voice laughed from behind him. Haar turned around to see Makalov practically fall off of his mount with a goofy grin plastered across his face. Haar shook his head at the clown-haired knight as Makalov approached him in much of a fumble—his foot had gotten caught in the reins. "Come on, man. Even _you_ can't deny that there's something exciting about three gorgeously developed females clinging to each other like that."

"I don't know whether to pummel you for talking about Jill in such a disrespectful way," Haar scrutinized the man before him, "or retch all over you for talking about Marcia in the same manner."

"Hmmm," Makalov attempted to look thoughtful, "I suppose you're right. Marcia is built rather like a plank or a twig or something thin and flat—Not very appealing."

"I was referring to the fact that she's your _sister_," Haar sighed. Talking to Makalov always seemed to be mentally exhausting, quite a chore for someone who avoided anything and everything strenuous. But truth be told, Haar had sort of taken a liking to the infamous screw-up back in the days of the Mad King's War.

"Haha…I knew that," Makalov laughed, scratching the back of his head.

Haar took the reins of Makalov's horse and led the animal towards the group of girls with Makalov trailing behind. Haar approached the girls with a warm smile which was returned only by Astrid. Jill looked away from him and Marcia made a face. He ignored the pang felt by Jill's aversion and returned Marcia's disgusted look before turning to Astrid. "May I?" He motioned towards her mount.

"Why of course Sir Haar," Astrid handed him the reins.

"And yours?" Haar said to Marcia with a snort.

"Why?" the pink haired pegasus-knight spat, "So you can feed him to that overgrown lizard of yours? I think not."

"If by 'him' you are referring to that flying mule, you can rest assured. My wyvern has better taste than that."

"I doubt it, _Cyclops_. That winged-newt eats from the garbage."

"Ah, I think you just proved my point."

"I wha..? Why you…Grrrrr…"

Astrid quickly stepped in front of Marcia before she could tackle Haar. "Now, now Lady Marcia, that is quite enough. I'm sure your pegasus will be properly accommodated for. Isn't that right Jill?"

"Huh?" Jill's head snapped up at the sound of her name. She was completely oblivious to the situation at hand as she had been lost deep in her thoughts. After Mist had spoken with her that morning she found it difficult to concentrate on anything. "I uh, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

"Don't worry bout it kid." Haar ruffled her hair with one hand as he wrenched the reins out of Marcia's grip with the other. "Come on Makalov," he motioned with his head for the knight to follow. Makalov obediently led Astrid and his mounts toward the stable area.

"Hey! Captain Cyclops!" Marcia called after Haar. He stopped but didn't turn around. "Don't give that leech of a brother of mine anything to drink. I've had him sober for three days now, ya hear?" Haar waved his hand dismissively and continued forward. Marcia growled an unintelligible insult under her breath.

Jill touched her head where Haar's hand had been just moments before. He always did stupid things like that. He always treated her like some know-nothing kid. So maybe he knew her when she was a child, but when she joined the wyvern knights she wanted to be treated as a soldier. He never understood that—or maybe he just never cared. She used to get so angry about it, but now she knew that she was just afraid that he'd never see her as anything more. And lately it seemed as though her fears had come true. And as much as it annoyed her, she would miss him ruffling her hair. She would miss him calling her "kid". She would miss him yelling at her for disorganizing the parcels when she never even touched them. She would miss his wretched snoring keeping her up at night when he forgot to close his door. She would even miss him dozing off in the middle of a conversation. Frankly, she would just miss having him around. She could feel tears starting to well in her eyes and quickly ran into the house, fearing she would not be able to control her emotions in front of her visitors.

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Haar leaned against the fence half asleep. Makalov sat on the rail, swinging his legs to and fro as he watched the horses (and the pegasus) huddled in a corner of the enclosure as the two large wyverns roamed about around them. The black one showed no interest in the newcomers, whereas the green one seemed eager to play with them. It would nudge them with its snout then run a few yards away and wait. When the horses (who just backed up further into the corner and whinnied in fear) didn't run after, the green wyvern would make a whining sound and nudge them again. This went on for a while before the black wyvern got irritated with the green one running about and snapped at it. The green wyvern then laid down quietly next to the horses. Makalov smiled and shook his head then looked back towards the house. The girls were nowhere to be seen. It was time to make his move.

"Ahem," Makalov cleared his throat and looked at his companion. Haar continued to doze. Makalov leaned in next to Haar's ear, "AHEM!"

"yuhmn?" Haar looked up lazily.

"I was just saying how crazy it was."

"How crazy what was?" Haar looked at him confused. Had they been in the middle of a conversation? He couldn't remember.

"Spunky little Jill gettin' made Duchess. Who would've thought, ya know?"

"Mmnff," Haar shrugged.

"I thought you would've been happy for her."

"I _am_ happy for her."

"Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Haar was fully awake now and feeling rather angry. What was Makalov getting at?

"You know, kicking her out, leaving her high and dry, dumping her on the streets to fend for herself. Your happiness has made you such a generous man."

"I hardly believe she'll end up on the streets. How do you know about that anyway?" Haar glared at his jesting friend suspiciously.

"Town gossip. Word is you think you're doing Jill some kind of favor. Not sure that abandonment constitutes as a favor though."

"Town gossip? Your town gossip wouldn't happen to be a brunette mage who isn't from this town now would she?"

"Well ain't you the smart one," Makalov laughed. "All right, you've caught me. The jig is up, I'll confess. I shall break my vow of trust with my confidant, I shall reveal…"

"Makalov," Haar sneered at him.

"Okay, okay. So when we were in the town I may have run into Mist when looking for the tavern. She and that laguz girl, Lethe, they were buying…well, something. I forget what exactly. Not very entertaining girls if you ask me, but they did give me a nice bottle of scuttlebutt, which would have to satisfy my interests as my horrid loving sister caught up with me before I could find the bar. Hence our current conversation," Makalov grinned as he explained the day's previous events.

Haar remained silent for a moment, considering what he had been told. Obviously Mist and Lethe had voiced their knowledge, and most likely their complaints of the other day's events to Makalov. This was likely because, apart from Jill, Makalov was his only known "friend". They probably intended to use the idiotic fluff-capped knight to pry further. Well, he would just tell him what he already knew. "Alright then, yes. I did ask Jill to move out and yes, it is for her own good. End of story, okay?"

"Hmph. That's all?" Makalov raised an eyebrow at Haar who nodded. "Well, that's not okay in the slightest. That doesn't even begin to answer my questions or relieve my doubt."

"You didn't ask any questions and it's none of your business so I'm not obligated to tell you anything."

"Ah, well, just out of curiosity, what would you tell General…ah…um..what was his name? Shashara? Samara? Shirley?"

"Shiharam," Haar growled. "I wouldn't tell him anything because he's dead. And if he were alive, I wouldn't be in this situation because Jill would be living with him as he was her father."

"Alright, alright. No need to get all snappy with me," Makalov smiled to himself. He had hit a nerve. He now had an opening. "I simply meant to imply that I don't think he'd be too pleased with the prospect of you ditching his daughter."

"You never even knew him so don't presume to think you would know how he would feel," Haar hissed through his teeth and clenched his fists. He was having a hard time controlling his rage.

"So he would be overjoyed that you're abandoning Jill?" Makalov placed a finger to his chin and tilted his head in mock confusion.

"I'm not abandoning her!"

"Oh that's right," Makalov narrowed his eyes. "You're doing her a _favor_."

Haar groaned. He could tell there was going to be no end to this unless he explained himself. He shouldn't have to, not to Makalov anyway. The only person who really deserved an explanation was Jill, but he couldn't quite bring himself to confront her. So Makalov would have to do, lest the nitwitted knight report back to the young Miss Fizzart with news of Haar's horrid scheme to abandon her to please her dead father. Utter nonsense of course, but if he didn't straighten things out now there was no telling what Makalov would say. "Look," he began with a sigh, "Jill's the daughter of the late Lord Fizzart and right now she's holding residence with a retired soldier who has no familial connection to her whatsoever. The townspeople, they already assume things."

"Oooh? And what sort of _things_ do they assume?" Makalov giggled.

Haar ignored the interjection and continued, "Now that she's to be the Duchess, her life will be under scrutiny—not just by citizens of Talrega or Daein, but by the other nations as well. She has to be careful not to lose respect or she could lose her authority. These people mean everything to her, and she worked hard to earn the opportunity to govern them. I can't risk her losing her reputation over some ill founded rumors." He paused for a moment as if trying to compose himself. "I…ah…I can't be the reason for that. This is the only way."

"If you say so man," but as Makalov spoke those words an idea was forming in his usually beer-filled mind.

"Besides, she's grown up now. She has been for a while," Haar smiled sadly. "She was still practically a kid when her dad was killed. I couldn't just leave her on her own. But she doesn't need me anymore. Her moving out just makes sense."

"I guess so," Makalov shrugged. Haar settled back against the fence rather miserably and stared vacantly at the sky. Makalov waited a while before speaking, "You know it's not so bad."

"What?" Haar grumbled in response.

"I never thought that I would ever be one to try it out. Wasn't exactly the type, you know? But now that I have, well, it ain't all that bad," Makalov grinned widely. "In fact, it's actually kind of nice."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you gotta find the right person—that's a given. But once you do, well, I dunno, it's like life is closer to being what is should be. Sure there's nagging, and expectations, and responsibilities and all that nastiness, but it's worth it in the end I think. Just knowing that no matter how drunk you get or how much money you gamble away or how many debt collectors you attract, they'll always be there for you. Better or worse, you know?"

"What on Tellius are you going on about?" Haar looked at his friend, bewildered.

Makalov rolled his eyes. "You can be real dense sometimes, you know that? I was just talking about the joys of _marriage_."

"Why?"

"Why? _Why_?" Makalov jumped down off the fence and grabbed Haar by the shoulders. "Why ,because it's the answer to all your problems."

Haar shoved Makalov off of him in irritation, "How is marriage the answer to _my_ problems?"

"You can't be serious," Makalov smacked his forehead with his palm, "Jeez, and Marcia says I'm dumb. Just think about it, Haar. No one would ever think twice about Jill living with her _husband_."

"Me and Jill? Tha-that's crazy. She's….I….you've completely lost it," Haar felt oddly nervous. He thought about feigning sleep—it wasn't unheard of for him to nod off in the middle of talking to someone.

"Is it really all that crazy? It's obvious she adores you. And the way you look at her, you know, when you think no one's paying attention, makes me think that those townsfolk aren't so far off in their assumptions."

"But she's Shiharam's little girl. I couldn't possibly…"

"I know I didn't know the guy, but I think he'd want his daughter to be taken care of."

"But she's so _young_, and I'm so….not."

"You're really gonna play the age card? Man, Nephenee told me back in her hometown it was quite common for fourteen year old girls to be married off in exchange for feed. Not that I'm advocating that sort of thing. Okay that's a bad example. I guess I mean, if you love her then what does it matter?"

"It's not that. Or just that. It's just…I dunno, everything."

"I think you're overcomplicating it. You don't want to lose Jill do you?"

"No…but it's not like I'll never see her again," Haar looked at the ground.

"Uh-huh. But you do think she has to move out. You think it's the only way. But listen, it doesn't have to be. You could be with her forever. All you have to do is marry her. That's not so much to ask. And everyone will be happy. She'll get to stay with you and keep her reputation, the townspeople will be more than satisfied, and you won't have to feel guilty for having naughty thoughts about your dead teacher's daughter," Makalov finished off his spiel with a nod towards Haar who stared back blankly. "Well, what do you think?"

Haar blinked a few times then stood up. As he was walking away he turned around and frowned, "I think I like you better when you're drunk."

"Does that mean you'll buy me a drink?" Makalov followed after him, laughing.


	6. The Magi Effect

**Author's Notes: The title of this one is the Magi Effect. As in the story **_**The Gift of the Magi**_**. You know that classic Christmas tale where the husband sells his watch to buy his wife a comb, and his wife cuts and sells her hair to buy him a watch-chain. Of course this chapter has no gifts, just the irony of two people giving up what they want (or in the case of this story thought they wanted) to give the other what he/she wants. Of course, you can't have it both ways, so it all depends on who acts first. **

**Also, I've decided there are going to be eight, rather than seven chapters. This day will be divided into two parts. So chapters six and seven will both occur on the day before the coronation ceremony. And chapter eight will be the day of the ceremony. **

***so its been pointed out to me that i had alot of grammar problems in this chapter. XD. It was late and I just wanted to post it before I forgot (so i skipped the read through and edit phase.) But I went back and tried to correct what I could. Please point out anything I missed so that I can fix that too. :-) **

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Jill, Haar, Mist and Lethe (who don't talk but their bodies are there), and a whole lot of mentioning of General Shiharam Fizzart **

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game**

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Duchess Jill #06: The Magi Effect

Haar lie awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. The sun had not risen yet, but it would soon enough. Normally, he'd be deep asleep until well after noon, but lately he was finding it difficult to sleep at all. Tomorrow was the coronation ceremony. Today was his last day with her. _It doesn't have to be_. Makalov's words reverberated through his mind. _You could be with her forever._ Haar groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.

******

Jill sat upright on her bed with her blanket pulled tightly around her shoulders. She had spent the past couple of nights crying herself to sleep. This morning when she had woken up, her eyes were still wet. She looked around her room. It wasn't anything like the one she had in her father's house. Shiharam was a lord in Begnion, and he had carried the title as well as the wealth with him to Talrega. And although he was by no means a lavish man, he had always provided Jill with more than suitable accommodations. She grew up in a large manse at the edge of town, which had plenty of rooms to spare as it was only her father and her living there. As a kid she used to pretend it was a castle, and as a tomboy she always preferred to role of knight to damsel. She had plenty of "stuff"—plush wyverns and untouched dolls; books on any and every subject of interest, as well as those that were of no interest; paintbrushes and watercolors; a fancy calligraphy set; and countless useless odds and ends that served no purpose other than decoration or short-lived amusement.

Looking around the room she now occupied, she realized that it was just as bare and uninteresting as a soldier's barracks. She had a basic bed with no headboard or canopy; a cream colored blanket and a white pillow; a simple dresser with three drawers which contained a handful of sweaters, three pairs of slacks, socks and undergarments; one pair of boots and various pieces of red armor; and a small collection of lances and axes propped up against one wall. There were no decorations, the walls and the floor were empty (save for the sleeping bodies of Mist and Lethe). And as strange as it was she had always felt more at home in this small, dull, boring room then she ever had in her old room in the mansion. Today was her last day in this room. She began to sob and pulled the blanket over her head.

******

He ran through it a thousand times. There were just too many reasons why it couldn't work. She was too young. He was too old. She was the General's daughter. He would never do anything to break Shiharam's trust. She was the sole heir to the Fizzzart House, which gave her a noble's title and fortune. He had run away from his home on a Begnion farm to join the army and now he was running a courier/delivery service. She was going to be the Duchess. He was a traitor to this country at least twice.

_If you love her then what does it matter?_ That stupid goof didn't know anything. Of course it mattered. Nothing, not even his love for Jill would cause him to be disloyal to General Shiharam. He owed his life to that man and he would do everything in his power to honor the late General's memory. But then he remembered something. Shiharam had told him once that age was a coward's excuse, much like gender or nationality. Shiharam had wanted him to look after the survivors, and that included Jill. Neither Shiharam nor Jill had ever cared much for titles or societal regulations. Jill had betrayed the country twice as well, and they had both been welcomed back by the townspeople with no questions asked.

He really did love her, and just about everyone knew how she felt about him. All she wanted was to be with him. And he didn't exactly _know_ that Shiharam wouldn't have approved.

******

It wasn't because of the room. Not at all. The room was just the place where she slept. The reason it felt like home was because of him. He was always just across the hall. During the wars he was always in the next tent. When her father was alive, he was always just a short walk down the road. He had just always been there. He was the one and only constant in her life. _He was home_.

But he wanted her gone. She couldn't understand it, or maybe she just didn't want to. Mist had told her it wasn't because he hated her, but because he thought it was best. If he didn't hate her that why was her leaving for the best? She felt a sharp pang in her chest. _If he doesn't hate me then it must be because he doesn't love me either._ He must know. How could he not? After talking with Astrid and Marcia the previous evening, Jill gathered that just about everyone knew, or at least suspected, that she was taken with him. So he didn't feel the same way. Why would he? She was just some orphaned kid he took pity upon. He was just doing her dad a favor. He didn't love her back so he wanted her to leave; he wanted to spare her feelings.

She was going to have to leave the one place she ever felt she truly belonged, and the one person she ever felt she belonged with. She would have cried, but there was nothing left in her. She felt empty.

******

Haar opened the topmost drawer of his dresser and rummaged through its contents, which consisted mostly of junk. He pulled out an old antique wedding ring. It had been his grandmother's. He snitched it from his mother's jewelry box before leaving home over twenty years ago, intending to pawn it off for some gold. But Shiharam had asked if he could buy it off of him instead. So Haar had given the ring to the General, and in return he had given Haar a generous amount of gold—much more than the ring was actually worth. When Haar had returned to his tent after the battle at Riven, where the General was slain, he had found the ring sitting on his bedroll with a note beside it. He searched through the drawer some more and found the note. Shiharam's distinct scrawling shorthand read: _Make good use of it this time, Boy. –Shiharam._

"I hope this is what you meant, Sir," Haar smiled as he placed the ring in his pocket. And if it wasn't what the General had in mind, then too bad. He loved her and this was what she wanted.

******

Jill reached under her bed and pulled out a large suitcase. The last time she had it out, she had gathered all her essential things from her father's house to bring here. And now she was packing it all back in. Careful not to wake her guests, she tip-toed around them and quietly opened her drawers. She pulled out her clothing and stuffed them in the suitcase along with her pillow, blanket, a throwing axe, her brush, and the dress she had bought for the ceremony. She put on her boots and her armor, and took the suitcase in one hand and her javelin and poleax in the other. She had everything that was hers in her hands. Once she left there would be no sign that she had ever even been there. It would be better that way. She took a deep breath. She loved him and this was what he wanted.

******

Jill opened the door before Haar had a chance to knock. She looked surprised to see him. She had a suitcase in her hand and her weapons in the other. His smile faded instantly. "Jill…what're you…?"

"Tell my friends, when they wake up, that I'll be at the Fizzart mansion down the road. Technically I own the place, so they can gather up their stuff and take it there. I wouldn't want them to inconvenience you any more than they already have. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going," she scarcely glanced at him as she pushed past.

"Jill, wait. We need to talk. You don't have to…"

She turned around; the look on her face was heartbreaking, "Don't act like you care now. You didn't want to talk about it when I was crying my eyes out, thinking you hated me. You didn't want to talk about it when I was acting like an idiot, throwing myself at you. You didn't want to talk about it when Mist and Lethe confronted you and gave you the perfect opportunity to. You have your reasons and they're your own, I get that. This is what you want. This is what's best for you, or me, or whatever it is you think. So please, just don't make this any harder on me than it already is."

There were a million things he should have said, should have done, but he was frozen by that look on her face. Her eyes, which were usually so full of life and energy, stared at him impassively. Her spirit was crushed.

"Goodbye, Captain." She walked out the door. He should have gone after her, called after her, something. But he couldn't move. He couldn't think. She was gone.


	7. Hauntings

**Author's Notes: So yes, Haar **_**should**_** have gone after her, but since when does he actually do anything if not directly ordered to? And even **_**then**_** he needs coaxing. But calm yourselves, this story is placed under Humor and Romance, not Tragedy. Sadly though, my last chapter lacked my usual humorous wit—it was far too serious. Hence, Makalov's return! And the return of Lethe's anger management issues! And who doesn't love some more lame insults via Marcia???? **

**Also, I was up till 3 in the morning writing this, so I was too tired to edit it for mistakes. If you spot some and let me know I'll do my best to fix it. **

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Jill, Haar, Makalov, Mist, Lethe, Marcia, Astrid, Sothe and "the voice of Shiharam's ghost" (don't ask, just read) **

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game.**

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Duchess Jill #07: Hauntings

A shudder ran down Jill's spine as she walked up the steps to the old mansion. It had been several years since she had set foot inside the place.

_The sixteen-year-old wyverness walked up the stone steps with a heavy heart. Dread weighed down her footsteps as she approached the door. She knew what awaited her on the other side and knowing just made it harder. She glanced behind her nervously as she turned the key in the lock. The Captain stood at the foot of the porch steps, yawning and paying her little mind as he waited for her to go inside so that he could be on his way. She sighed. Once he left, she would be all alone. She pushed open the door. _

Jill looked around. The interior of the mansion had a forlorn atmosphere. The furniture was uncovered and layered with cobwebs. A thick film of dust covered every surface, every painting on the wall, and every unlit lamp.

_It was her father's house. It was full of his things, his memories, but not him. No, he would never again come to this place. He truly was gone and she truly was alone. She had no father, no family, nothing. It hit her like a blow to the chest. Her eyes filled to the brim with tears as her knees gave out. She expected to hit the hard wooden floor but instead she fell back against a warm body and two firm arms held her up. She craned her neck to see the Captain staring down at her, a worry-stricken look spread across his features. "Are you all right?" _

Her father's things had sat there untouched for such a long time, and the majority of her things as well. She set down her suitcase on a moldy old chair and walked towards the staircase. Her heart caught in her throat as she looked up into the black void of the upper levels of the house.

_She fought back the tears. She couldn't cry in front of him. He would think she was weak. She wasn't weak. She was General Shiharam's daughter. She was a soldier. _

She lit a candle and held it out in front of her as she walked slowly up the steps. She passed by the second level, where the servant's quarters were located. She could hardly believe she used to have servants—a maid, a cook, and a nanny when she was younger. Her father had hired them to care for her because he was so busy with the army and with aiding the citizens. He had dismissed them when he and Jill left for war. She hadn't thought about them since. She could hardly remember their names. She felt guilty as she persisted up the stairs.

"_Jill." The Captain kept calling out her name and shaking her shoulders. "Jill say something." She opened her mouth to speak but all that came out was a whimper. The tears she had been trying so hard to hold back ran freely down her cheeks. She tried to push away from him, to get away so he wouldn't see her crying, but he turned her around and held her tightly against him. _

Her heart was pounding and her head was throbbing as she stepped out onto the third floor. She could see her old bedroom door at the end of the hall, slightly ajar. She took a deep breath and continued forward.

"_Captain…I….I can't…I can't be here…He's not here….He…He's…" She choked on her words between sobs, "He's …dead."_

Her room was just as she had left it (well, apart from the dust and cobwebs). It gave her an eerie feeling. Her eyes scanned the room and immediately rested on a large painted portrait of her parents hanging above her bed. She had never known her mother as she had died when Jill was still a baby. She used to look at the painting thinking that the ghost of the beautiful woman depicted resided inside. When she would go to sleep at night she would imagine the ghost of her mother coming out and walking around, watching over her or something to the like. Jill smiled sadly as her eyes shifted slightly over to the figure of her father. They were both ghosts now.

_The Captain held her head against his chest as she continued to sob uncontrollably. He stroked her hair with his free hand in a futile attempt to comfort her. Jill half expected him to murmur "It's all right" or "Everything will be okay," but he didn't. He never once uttered any of those empty words. He knew better. He knew what Shiharam had meant to her, to both of them. _

Jill gasped in horror as her eyes fell to the foot of her bed. The eyeless face of a tiger laguz stared back at her. She had forgotten about her laguz pelt. It had been one of her most prized possessions. She had killed and skinned the poor thing herself. It sickened her to think of how she used to relish the sub-human hunts. Still, those inhumane hunts were never enough for her. Her dream had been to slay one in a real battle, to drive her lance into it as her father looked on proudly. She wanted him to look at her like he looked at Haar and the other Wyvern Knights. If she had only known then what she now knew. Her father never wanted to kill the laguz, he only ever wanted peace. As she looked down at the creature's hollow face a tear ran down her cheek.

_She sat on the floor in Captain's arms for what seemed like hours. Her face felt damp and her eyes felt raw from crying. His shirt was a snotty tear-soaked mess. She sniffled a little and looked up at him, humiliated. "I—I'm sorry," she muttered as she tried to clean off his shirt with her sleeve. But he didn't seem to notice. _

Jill picked up the pelt and wrapped it in her best blanket. She lifted it up onto her shoulder and started out the door, but stopped suddenly. She remembered something else. She walked over to her desk, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a small paper-backed book. On the cover was an especially terrifying looking hawk laguz with its face smashed in a glass window. The title, scrawled in blood-red letters, read: _101 Ways to Kill a Sub-Human_. Jill scowled as she read the title, and crammed the book into her pocket before slamming the drawer.

"_You could come live with me," the Captain said after a while._

"_What?" She stopped scrubbing at the mess on his shirt. _

"_Well, I have room. And it would make running that courier service easier, not having to come get you every morning and all."_

"_Oh." She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She wasn't entirely sure why. She knew he was trying to be nice, and he didn't want to accuse her of being lonely or needy. But she didn't particularly like being considered a business asset. In truth, she had forgotten that she'd agreed to help him run the service. _

_The Captain seemed to sense her dissatisfaction with his proposal, and shifted her so that he could look her straight in the eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched with a slight smile, "Besides, an old soldier like me needs some help around the house. And it's so hard finding a roommate who can adapt to my sleeping schedule." _

_Jill couldn't help but laugh, "You're not that old. You're just lazy." _

"_You always were too smart for your own good," He ruffled her hair and she rolled her eyes. "So what do you say, Miss Fizzart? Do you want to stay with me?" _

Jill hurried down the stairs into the main living area and headed straight for the fireplace. She threw in a few old, moldy logs and lit the fire. She pulled the book from her pocket and tore it in half; then, she threw the scattered pages into the flames. As she watched the book burn—the pages curl up and blacken until they disappeared completely—she started to cry. She hated herself for who she had once been—a young, violently prejudiced laguz-killer—but that wasn't why she cried. She hated being alone in her father's empty house, but that wasn't why she cried either. She cried because despite all the memories of her former self and all the memories of her father, it was the memories of _him_ that kept invading her thoughts, threatening to drive her mad.

"_Yes. I would like that," she felt her cheeks burn and she looked down, embarrassed. _

"_Good." _

_She felt his lips press against her forehead and she blushed even more, until she was certain her face was as bright as her hair. _

Jill wiped her eyes and put out the fire. She sighed as she picked up the blanket wrapped tiger skin, and headed outside.

"_Th—thank you Captain. F-for everything," she stammered as her heart was racing. _

_She could feel his lips twist into a smile and the warmth of his breath upon her as he spoke, "I thought I told you not to call me that." _

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_She called me Captain_, Haar grimaced as he remembered the events of early that morning. How long had it been since she called him that? Surely not since they first moved in together—no, that wasn't right. She did refer to him with that title a few times during the war against Micaiah…or Daein…or Begnion…or the Begnion Senate….or Ashera…or whoever that blasted war was against. He didn't know, or care for that matter. Frankly, the only thing he really remembered clearly about that war was the enormous dread he felt when he saw Jill in the ranks of the Dawn Maiden's Army, and how relieved he was that she agreed to join him on the side of the Laguz Alliance. She only called him Captain then because she was in battle-mode. She was just fulfilling her role as a soldier. Now…now he didn't know what was going on, only that it wasn't a good thing.

"I can't believe he can sleep after what happened!"

"I can. He sleeps during battles, why shouldn't he sleep after squabbles with a girl? It seems completely characteristic of him."

"I wasn't being literal, you Chowderhead."

"I say we make this nap of his permanent. Grrrowwwrrr."

"Lethe! That's not necessary."

"Rrrr…He's an insensitive jerk! He deserves it!"

"_He's_ insensitive? Have you heard yourself talk lately, Kitty?"

"WHAT DID CALL ME?!"

"You've really done it this time, Onion Face."

"Lethe, just calm down."

"Everyone look! I think he's waking up."

Haar opened his eye to find five figures leaning over him. He sat up slowly and shook his head, trying to knock off the remnants of sleep.

"You've got some nerve, you lizard-loving cycloptic meanie," Marcia spat as her foot made contact with his ribs.

Haar groaned and rubbed his side, "What was that for?"

"Don't play dumb with us, Scale Brain," she retorted, blowing her pink bangs out of her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Astrid overheard everything you pathetic beorc. There is no use in your mind games today," Lethe scoffed.

Astrid clasped her hands behind her back shyly. "I'm sorry, Sir Haar. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was sleeping over there by the door and I couldn't help but hear. Normally I wouldn't have said anything…only…"

"How could you let her leave?" Mist whined and inadvertently grabbed his arm.

Haar looked down at the young cleric, his mind blank. He couldn't think clearly. He only just barely noticed Makalov slip out the door in all the commotion.

"He told you already Mist, he _wants _her gone," Lethe hissed.

"That's not what he said and you know it!" Mist cried.

Haar closed his eye and rubbed his temples. They were giving him a headache.

"I was saying that I wouldn't have even mentioned this to the others if not for the fact that you seemed so sad after she left. I also told them that she wanted us to go stay with her, but they all decided they wanted to talk to you first," Astrid finished her earlier statement.

"Mist and Marcia may want to _talk_ beorc, but I trust you know that is not what _I_ had in mind," Lethe bared her teeth at the eye-patched man.

"Oh just stop it Lethe," Mist seemed on the verge of tears. "He hasn't done anything we didn't already know about. And hurting him would only upset Jill more."

Haar pushed past the group of girls, towards the door.

"Hey, where do you think you're going, you narcoleptic pirate-wannabe?" Marcia ran to block the door but he shoved her back.

"I'm going out." He stated without emotion, and continued out the door.

"Hey! I wasn't finished with you! Get back here beorc coward!" Lethe yowled.

Mist watched his figure walk away until he disappeared among the trees. Maybe he was going to go talk to Jill—though that was doubtful. She knew this couldn't be the end of it. Jill would be miserable. There had to be a way to fix this. There just had to be.

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Makalov hiccupped as he strolled happily down the street, a half empty bottle in his hand. It was only his third—or fifth drink. He couldn't remember exactly. He gotten kicked out after losing all his gold in a game of cards—the taverns had no use of a customer who couldn't pay. That was only an hour or so ago. It might even be a new record for him…he couldn't remember that exactly either. He passed by a large mansion and was going to continue on his way, but he heard muffled sobs nearby. He may have been a drunk, but that did not mean he was not a gentleman. He couldn't leave some poor defenseless girl in distress. He chugged the rest of his drink and cast off the bottle, then puffed out his chest and headed down the path to the manse.

Jill dumped the final shovelful of dirt over the grave she had dug for the laguz pelt. She set down the shovel and exhaled. Her face was covered in dirt and grime, and her cheeks were wet with tears. She picked up a makeshift grave marker she had created by fastening two logs together in the shape of a cross. She thrust the cross into the freshly laid dirt and packed the soil around it to keep it in place. Then she collapsed next to it, covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

Makalov walked around to the back of the building where he saw a woman huddled on the ground, crying. He approached the young woman cautiously—many a time had he been slapped, kicked, or had sand thrown in his face for being too forward with a girl. He was only trying to help—some girls just jumped to conclusions. As he got closer he noticed something oddly familiar about the woman. He couldn't quite place it…and then she looked up.

"Makalov?"

"Ohh…um…Miss….Fizzy…er, um…Fizzor…Scissors….something to do with darts…." Makalov scratched his head as he tried to remember the woman's name.

"Are you all right?" the woman quickly wiped her face before standing. "You, erm, seem a bit out of it."

"Jill!" Makalov exclaimed loudly. "Jill Fissordarts! Fancy seeing you here! Hic…We were all just talkin' bout you."

"Who's we?" Jill raised an eyebrow at the intoxicated man before her.

"Oh you know. Me…not so much me…hic…my obnoxious little sister, Mistofolees, Kittycat, Astrid…well, not so much Astrid…and Haar…well not so much him either. See Misty and the Kitty girl and Martian…I er, mean Marcia, they were talking about how stupid Haar was and how sad you were and then Haar…hic…was all like 'what was that for' cuz Marcia kicked him and then I ran away and found a nice bar. But I got kicked out cuz I lost all my money to this big guy with a…hic… unibrow and then I heard a lady crying so…hic…I decided I'd rescue her, but not hit on her cuz I'm happily married thank you very much. And here you are…hic…and you're the crying lady so I'm here to rescue you," Makalov bent over as he tried to catch his breath after his explanation.

"Oh…I think I understand," Jill scrunched her eyebrows together as she contemplated his ramblings.

"So why were you…hic… crying?" Makalov inquired as he straightened up.

"I…uh…I don't know." Jill looked down, embarrassed that he had seen her shedding tears.

"Is it because of Haar?"

"W-why would you say that?" Jill turned away, aware that her face was turning red.

Makalov shrugged, "Because he's really sad too, after you left this morning and all… I figure…hic…maybe one has to do with the other. "

"He—he's sad? Why would he be sad?" Jill turned back to Makalov, wonder in her eyes. She left—she thought that was what he wanted. So why was he sad? It didn't make any sense.

Makalov tilted his head to the side and stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Because he's in love with you."

"Wh-What? B-But…"

"That's what he told me…hic…sort of anyway. He just won't say anything to you about it because you're the Duchess now…or…hic…going to be anyway. Now, if you'll excuse…hic…me, I need to go get some...hic…flowers for my sister…uh, anyway?" And with that Makalov turned on his heel and swaggered back the way he came.

Jill was stunned. Haar loved her? Of course, this was information coming from an unreliable drunken fool…but still. He was in love with her. What could have been a surge of happiness was quickly drained by the rest of Makalov's words. Haar didn't want to be with her because she was to be the Duchess. He loved her, but he felt like he couldn't be with her. Jill was about to cry again when she heard footsteps behind her. Thinking it was Makalov, lost on his way out, she masked her emotions and turned around with a forced smile, "So you're back already Makalov?"

"Uh…heh. No. Sorry to disappoint," a green haired young man with a scarf smiled back at her.

"Sothe!" Jill exclaimed, "What are you doing here? The coronation isn't until tomorrow."

"Heh, well Micaiah sent me ahead to make sure everything was in order," Sothe grinned.

"She sent you? But you're the King," Jill thought Micaiah would have sent one of the Dawn Brigade, or at least someone less important to Daein.

"Ha. I'm no king. Just the Queen's consort," Sothe laughed.

"I don't understand," Jill was baffled. He was married to Micaiah. Didn't that make him the king?

"I have no actual power as far as Daein is concerned. My only role is to accompany Micaiah to meetings and balls and whatnot. I just stand there and look pretty."

"Oh…I um, didn't know you could do that." Jill wondered if Haar would change his mind about being with her if he didn't actually have to take part in overseeing Talrega.

"Speaking of which, you do have an escort for the coronation don't you? I mean, Micaiah didn't mention it because we all assumed you'd show up with Haar, but…I talked to Marcia –that's how I knew to find you here—and she seemed to be under the impression that you two weren't on the best of terms."

"Eh…you could say that…"Jill bit her lip.

"Well it's none of my business. Just make sure you have an escort, okay? It's only proper…or so says Micaiah," Sothe rolled his eyes. He was apparently a bit annoyed with Micaiah's taking so readily to her position as Queen.

"I..um…okay" Jill frowned. There was no way she could ask Haar to escort her to the coronation, not after the way she blew up at him that morning. But she hated the idea of going with anyone else. What else could she do?

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Makalov studied the bushes. He obviously couldn't buy flowers for Marcia…he lost all his money…that was why he was getting her flowers in the first place…to sucker her into lending him some gold. But it seemed that flowers didn't bloom so much in this cold weather. He couldn't present her with a bouquet of frozen buds, that wouldn't do at all. He thought for a moment. On their way to Jill's—or rather Haar's—house, they had passed a cemetery. There was always an ample supply of nice bouquets sitting on the graves at cemeteries. He'd just go borrow some. It wasn't like the intended recipients would miss the flowers—they were dead after all.

Makalov entered the cemetery cautiously, making sure that no one would see him snatching the flowers of the beloved departed. But when he walked over the hill, he noticed he wasn't alone. He quickly ducked behind a tombstone so not to be spotted.

"General…I, I screwed up," Haar kneeled in front of a grave, looking quite depressed.

Makalov looked around suspiciously. He was quite certain Haar hadn't seen him. But there was no one else in site. Was he talking to the tombstone?

"I promised you I'd take care of her, but all I've done is made her miserable. You'd be so disappointed in me."

"AhhhhOOOOooo Indeed."

Haar fell back, startled. He looked around, scanning the graveyard but to no avail. The deep haunting voice seemed to originate out of thin air.

"WhooOOOooo. You have caused my daughter great pain. For this I am ashamed. AhhhhOOOoooo. But fear not my pupil, for there is still time. You can still redeem yourself. EeeeUuuuuhhhhhhooooo."

Haar narrowed his eye at a tombstone to his left as he stood up.

"Whhhuuuuhhhhooooohhhh. Go to her. Tell her the truth. Tell her you want to feel the softness of her sweet lips, the warmth of her bare skin, the …EEEEEEP!" Makalov squeaked as Haar grabbed him by the back of his shirt and lifted him up into the air.

"You have problems," Haar glowered before slamming him hard against the tombstone.

Makalov grimaced in pain as he sat up. He touched his hand to his forehead, and when he took it away there was a smear of blood on it. He smiled sheepishly, "Was the wailing too over the top? Maybe I should have tried a light moaning instead."

Haar snorted and walked away.

"Hey wait," Makalov quickly grabbed a bouquet of white flowers off of one of the graves and followed Haar in pursuit.

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"…Jill." Haar hesitated as he walked in the door. He hadn't expected her to be sitting at the table when he came in. But sure enough, there she was surrounded by her friends.

"What happened to you, Goofball? Did you get in another bar fight?" Marcia stood up from the table and went over to Makalov, a disapproving look drawn upon her face.

"Oh dear, are you hurt?" Astrid fretfully ran over to her husband.

"Ah, no worries. Just fell down and bumped my head, that's all," Makalov smile. He pulled his bouquet into two parts and presented each girl with one. Astrid smiled happily, but Marcia glared at him suspiciously.

Jill pushed back her chair and stood up. She took a deep breath and walked over to the door, where Haar still stood dumbfounded. She wanted to say so many things to him, she wanted to ask him about what Makalov had told her, and tell him what Sothe had said; but, her pride would not allow her to. Not after the scene she had made at the start of the day. It would be too humiliating. She had been humiliated enough as it were. She had decided, there was nothing more she could do. The fate of their relationship was up to him.

"Captain, I need a favor. I only ask you out of your loyalty to my father and the Fizzart name," she spoke in a voice devoid of emotion, but Haar knew better.

"Anything," Haar smiled sorrowfully. He knew this was tormenting her as much as it was tormenting him. He wished he could alleviate her suffering, but he didn't know how. He would do whatever she asked of him, though he knew it could not fix the damage that was already done.

"If it would not be too much trouble, I would be grateful if you would escort me to the coronation tomorrow. I only recently discovered I was required to have an escort, and being last minute and all, I have no one else to ask," Jill hardly looked at him as she made her plea. He wondered how long she had rehearsed it. She was getting good at detached formalities. All for the better, he supposed, she was to be the Duchess.

"It would be an honor," Haar gave her a slight bow, ignoring the dread welling in his stomach. Accompanying her to the ceremony would be insufferable under the circumstances. But he would have to manage, for her sake.

"No hard feelings then?" Jill's eyes met his, and he could see she was breaking on the inside.

"Never," he whispered. He watched as she closed her eyes and poised herself. She opened them again and smiled. She had a beautiful smile, even if it wasn't genuine.

"Then I will see you tomorrow."

He nodded and she left. He felt dejected. He thought about the day they returned after the Mad King's War. He thought about how he held her in his arms while she cried for so long. He thought about how he had wanted more than anything to protect her from all the horrid things in the world that would make her sad. He wondered how it had come to be that he was one of those horrid things. He looked around him, her friends were still there. He didn't care if they stayed or went, it didn't' really matter. Nothing really mattered, not anymore. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back to his room. Shutting himself inside he sank to the floor, barely aware of the tears that streamed down his left cheek.

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Mist bent down and picked up a shimmering object. It had fallen out of Haar's pocket when he left the room in such a hurry. She studied it for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. "This is perfect!"

Makalov, his drunkenness now worn off for the most part, stared at her stupidly, "Perfect? I think it sucks that he has to go to that ceremony with her after she broke his heart."

"_She _broke _his_ heart?!" Lethe lunged at the orange-clad knight but was intercepted by Marcia.

"Jeepers Lethe!" Marcia struggled to hold back the writhing laguz. "But she's got a point, Mak. He started this whole mess."

"Oh my. Does it really matter who started it? It seems so sad to me that everyone has to be so miserable. I guess I just don't understand these things," Astrid sighed and rested her head on Makalov's shoulder.

"Sure you do. Your parents wanted you to marry that nasty duke guy, right? And they practically disowned you for refusing and marrying me. It's just like that. Haar thinks Talrega would disown Jill for being with a guy like him," Makalov explained.

"Chestnuts! Makalov, you big dummy! Why on Tellius would you think that?" Marcia scoffed.

"Well dearest sister, because _he told me_. I went and talked to him yesterday like Mist asked me to."

"You moronic Leech! You're just telling us this now!" Marcia smacked her brother on the back of his head.

Makalov rubbed his already sore head in aggravation, "I didn't think he'd want me going around gossiping about his business."

"This changes nothing," Lethe hissed, "His reasons do not justify his actions. Jill is still upset, and he is still the cause of it."

"Maybe. But _this_ changes everything," Mist held up the object she had picked up off of the floor. The others crowded around.

"It's a ring," Marcia raised an eyebrow.

"What is so special about a piece of jewelry?" Lethe scrunched up her face in a snarl.

"This isn't just any old ring," Mist smiled, "It's a wedding ring. And it fell out of the pocket of our lazy eye-patched friend."

"You don't think…" Marcia's mouth gaped.

"He did say he wanted to talk to her this morning," Astrid mused.

"Well what do you know, some people do listen to me," Makalov swelled with self-satisfaction.

"Alright guys. We've got a lot of work to do and not much time," Mist's mind was racing. "Lethe and I will go over to Jill's tonight, I've got to finish the alterations on her dress and the two of us will help her get ready for the coronation. You three stay here and find out all you can from Haar. We'll meet up tomorrow afternoon before the ceremony and finalize the plan of action."

Marcia, Makalov and Astrid nodded.

Lethe looked at them all in wonderment. She was obviously missing something. She simply did not understand beorc customs; she couldn't fathom how a tiny circlet of metal could gain such a reaction out of her friends. It looked rather ordinary to her.

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**I don't usually add explanations at the end, but in the section where Haar is half asleep and there are unidentified voices talking, they are (in this order): Marcia, Makalov, Marcia, Lethe, Mist, Lethe, Makalov, Lethe, Marcia, Mist, then Astrid (though I suppose Astrid's statement could really be from anyone). **

**And yes…I made Haar cry. XD. I'll never forgive myself for that one. **

**And I watch CATS too much….Mistofolees….XD. Forgive me for that too. **


	8. The Coronation

**Author's Notes: The finale! Wo0t! **

**FYI:**

**Setting: Talrega (Daein, Tellius) Post-Radiant Dawn**

**Characters: Jill, Haar, Mist, Lethe, Makalov, Astrid, Marcia, and Sothe; New in this chapter : Micaiah, Sigrun, Tibarn, Reyson, Kieran and Boyd (who speak) Sanaki, Tanith, Elincia, Geoffrey, Lucia, Bastian, Skrimir, Ranulf, Nailah, Rafiel, Naesala, Leanne, Mia, Rhys, and the Dawn Brigade (who don't speak) and Rolf and Oscar (who are merely mentioned)—Lots of implied pairings. And a lot more if you squint.**

**And of course, Sophie, who **_**is **_**a canon character from PoR (when she's talking in the game it just says "****Woman" but**** she introduces herself to Ike and Jill as Sophie.)**

**Disclaimer: All characters/settings/whatever is mentioned pretty much belongs to Nintendo and those nice people who made the game.**

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Duchess Jill #08: The Coronation

It was during the early hours of the morning on the day that Jill was to become the Duchess in which Haar found himself wandering the desolate back roads of Talrega.

_The eight year old girl ran in through the door with tears streaming down her face. The young man in his mid-twenties didn't so much as stir from his position in the chair, though he was fully aware the girl had just barged in, unannounced and uninvited. She frantically ran through the rooms in his house, unaware that her long red ponytail would occasionally knock something off of a table as she ran past. The man on the other hand was fully aware of that as well, but still he said nothing. He didn't even open his eye._

"_Where is he?" The girl screamed. She was standing directly in front of the man now, her hands poised on her hips. He groaned. There would be no ignoring her now. "Where is my father?" She stomped her foot in irritation. _

"_He's not here," the man yawned._

"_I know that. I looked for him. He's not at home either. Where is he? I know you know. Tell me!"_

"_You're such a brat," the man glared at her with his one eye as he sat up in the chair. _

"_And you're a jerk! Now tell me where my father is!" The girl clenched her small hands into tight little fists. _

_The man snorted, "If you must know, he went to Begnion."_

"_B-but..but…" the girl started to tear up. _

"_He'll be back in the morning. You don't have to get all emotional about it," the man stood up and walked away from the girl. The last thing he needed was a sobbing little brat to ruin his afternoon nap. However, she didn't seem to take the hint as she just followed him into the next room. "If I pretend to care, will you go back home and annoy your nanny?" the man asked. The girl gave him a look that could only be described as evil, but nodded. "Alright then. What did you want to tell your dad?" _

"_This boy at school, Duncan, I pushed him down," the girl wiped her face with a handkerchief. _

"_Why would you do that?" _

"_He made me cry," the girl crossed her arms and pouted. _

"_So?" the man was beginning to lose interest._

"_So? He said I was pretty!" the girl started to sob again. _

"_And that's a bad thing?" the man yawned. He had half a mind to say something mean, but decided against it. _

"_Soldiers aren't pretty!" the girl wailed. _

_The man raised an eyebrow at her, but in truth he was trying not to laugh at her outburst. If he laughed, she would only get more upset and there would be no getting rid of her. So instead he led her to the door and patted the top of her head. "Soldiers don't cry either Jill, so suck it up." _

"Soldiers don't cry Haar, so suck it up," he muttered to himself in a mocking tone as he walked amidst the morning fog. He had been so mean to Jill back then. Back then? Who was he kidding; he was still pretty mean to her, especially during the last couple of days. He passed by a shop and stopped to inspect his reflection in the window. His shirt was wrinkled, his hair was a mess and the lines in his face were really starting to show. "Well Haar, at least you're not pretty."

It was probably a result of all the stress and emotional build up he had acquired during the week, but after he spoke those words, he couldn't help but laugh. And laugh. And laugh. He felt like an idiot, but he just kept laughing.

"It's so nice to see someone starting off the day in such a cheerful manner," a sweet-sounding motherly voice chimed from behind.

Haar spun around, startled and embarrassed. "Sorry," he muttered to the middle-aged woman.

"No need to apologize," the woman smiled, "though one must wonder, what on earth could put someone such as you in such a good mood, Sir Haar?"

"I uh…Do I know you?"

"Well of course, don't you remember me? I'm Sophie," the woman replied. "You and General Shiharam helped my father tend to the flock after one of the mudslides. It was ages ago, but I'm sure I must have made an impression."

"Uh…right….Sophie." Haar hadn't the slightest clue who the woman was or what she was talking about. "Listen, sorry again about the way I was acting, I was just…"

"Oh I know exactly why you were so joyous. It's obvious," the woman grinned mischievously.

"You…wha…it is?" Haar sighed. So he was obviously a lunatic? That was a comforting thought.

"Of course it is. One would be a fool not to know that this has to do with the Lady Jill moving back into the Fizzart Mansion," Sophie said a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh…so word got around…" Haar gritted his teeth. That was just great. Now he'd have the whole town on his back about this. It wasn't as if he didn't feel bad enough already.

"Well of course. I'm sure all of Talrega—maybe even Daein—knows about it. And let me be the first to tell you, it's about darn time," Sophie said with a huge smile as she lightly punched his arm.

"Excuse me?" Haar wasn't sure if he had heard the woman correctly, or why she felt the need to touch him.

"So, are ya'll announcing it at the ceremony this afternoon? Personally, I think it would be perfect timing. My sister on the other hand, she thinks ya'll should wait till another function. She thinks that Queen Micaiah won't take well to being upstaged. But I say, today is the Lady Jill's coronation, so today should be all about the Lady Jill. Am I right, or am I right?"

"Uh…I don't really think it's necessary to announce anything" Haar muttered. This crazy woman expected them to announce that he kicked Jill out? That wasn't anybody's business but theirs, and according to this nutcase, everybody already knew anyway. The only thing that would come out of it was public humiliation for Jill, not something Haar was too fond of.

"Not necessary?" Sophie seemed shocked. "I beg your pardon Sir Haar, but I assure you that it is indeed most necessary. The Lady Jill is our Duchess, and her life is now most important to the people of Talrega. We require that important events be made public."

"She's not the Duchess for you're entertainment, she's the Duchess so she can help you stupid people live better lives," Haar growled. There was no way he was going to let Jill be made into some object of town gossip and speculation. Not after all she had done for these ungrateful maggots.

"Oh my, aren't you the cutest," Sophie giggled. "It's so sweet how protective you are. Though I must say you understand very little of political showmanship. If you wished to keep this under wraps, you shouldn't have moved out of that shack of yours."

"What? I still live in my sha…er… house. Look lady, I don't…"

"Please, call me Sophie," the woman interrupted, "I'm only saying that if you're making it official, then it is surely public domain. You can't expect the people to simply allow their Duchess to embark into engagements all willy-nilly."

"…embark into…?"

"Not that you need to worry about consent or anything. Everyone around here adores you. But if you start acting all secretive, they're bound to get suspicious," Sophie paused to allow Haar to respond, but realizing he would only get cut off again he remained silent. Sophie smiled approvingly. "Take my advice. If you wish to avoid all this _unnecessary _speculation, then simply announce the engagement at the ceremony today. Otherwise, the gossip may turn for the worse."

"Miss Sophie, Jill and I aren't—"

"Just Sophie is fine. Anyway, as I was saying to begin with, I'm glad the two of you decided to move into the mansion. You'll need the bigger space to raise the children properly."

"Uh…," Haar stared at Sophie, completely befuddled. "W-we don't have any—"

"Well I should hope not," Sophie laughed, "You're not even married yet. I'm simply referring to the upcoming years. You have to think about the future, but I'm sure you know that already."

"…Right. Listen," Haar found himself wishing desperately for his lethargy to return, "there's been a huge misunderstanding. Jill and I, we're not—"

"Oh my goodness!" Sophie exclaimed, once again cutting Haar off mid-sentence. "Just look at the time! The sun is nearly overhead; the ceremony will be starting any minute now!"

"What?" Haar looked up in disbelief, and—just as the woman had said—the sun was almost directly overhead. Where had the time gone? He was supposed to escort Jill to the ceremony. His heart dropped. There was no way he'd get to her house in time.

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"Just a few more minutes. We can wait just a few more minutes, can't we?" Mist pleaded.

"Face it," Lethe snarled, "He's not coming."

"But what if he's on his way right now?" Mist suggested hopefully as she glanced over at Jill. The young red-haired wyverness sat silently by the window. She was wearing her dress, which Mist had altered the skirt to make it a floor-length gown. Mist had left the low back and neckline, but had sewn Jill a matching lace shawl to cover her shoulders. Mist and Lethe had then spent the morning curling Jill's long red locks so that her trademark ponytail hung in delicate spiraled ringlets. Mist had also fastened a white lily to the Duchess-to-be's hair band, to complete the look. The truth was, Jill was positively stunning to look at. But one glance to her face and anyone could tell that she felt the complete opposite.

"Jeepers Mist," Marcia frowned, "Just accept it. He's not on his way. The old Cyclops has no intention of coming." Marcia, Makalov, and Astrid had arrived that morning with devastating news. They had awakened to find Haar missing, his bedroom window ajar. It was apparent to them that he had changed his mind about accompanying Jill to the ceremony.

"I hate to agree Mist," Astrid chimed in softly, "but, I don't see any point in making Miss Jill suffer any longer."

"But what about the plan!" Mist cried out desperately.

"Shush," Marcia shoved Mist into the other room, and the others followed suit. "You don't want to upset Jill, do you?"

"Besides," Makalov put his arm around Mist, "It wasn't really much of a plan. More of an ambush."

Mist moved away from the pink-haired knight who was clad in a hideous orange ensemble which he claimed was his "dress clothing". She turned and faced the group, "We can't just stand by and do nothing! He loves her, the ring proves it!"

"Aw fiddlesticks," Marcia sighed, "It doesn't prove anything."

"The only thing we can be sure of is that the one-eyed beorc is a coward," Lethe hissed.

"But—" Mist tried to protest, but at that very moment Jill walked into the room.

"Let's go," Jill pushed past them towards the front door, her voice impassive. But they all knew she must have been hurting inside.

They all filed out the door behind Jill, Mist lagging a little behind. The Valkyrie stayed by the door while the others walked on ahead down the path. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a small pouch that she hung on the doorknob. "I'm not giving up on you just yet," she whispered before running to join the others.

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By the time he reached his house to change into the most formal attire he owned (which was hardly a step up from his typical attire) the trio from Crimea had long since departed. By the time he reached the Fizzart Manse, the coronation ceremony had no doubt already begun. So Haar couldn't say he was too terribly surprised when no one answered the door, but that didn't keep him from banging on it with his fist or cursing under his breath.

After a while he accepted that it was pointless to continue, having known all along that he wouldn't make it on time. He leaned back against the door and jerked his head back so that it hit the wood hard. He figured there was nothing like a good headache to get one's mind off of things. But the force from him slamming his head against the door caused the small leather pouch to slip off of the knob and land at his feet. Haar looked at it listlessly for a moment before bending down to pick it up. He was going to put it back without a second thought, but something he couldn't explain made him open it instead. He reached inside the pouch and was rather shocked to find his grandmother's ring among the contents, along with a note in Mist's flowery handwriting reading "It's not too late."

*************************************************************************************

Jill hadn't thought the week could get any worse. But Haar not escorting after he had promised her he would was like the last stake being driven into the coffin. That was the perfect metaphor as she felt practically dead on the inside. She knew having him escort her was going to be awkward, but for him to not even bother to show up? It seemed obvious that he didn't really care about her and probably never had. Makalov was a drunken idiot who was full of crap. And she was a pitiful fool for having ever believed otherwise. She hated herself for getting attached. She despised that she allowed herself to fall in love. She was just a pathetic, weak little girl who wasn't fit to be the Duchess. How could she control an entire region when she couldn't even control her own emotions?

"Is everything alright?" Micaiah whispered as she placed a hand over Jill's. They were both seated in chairs on a platform in the courthouse. At that moment, a Daein official was giving a speech about economic goals he hoped the new Duchess would achieve once granted office. However, the Queen was much more interested in the well-being of her friend that the political jargon being presented.

"Everything is fine," Jill answered robotically, forgetting that Micaiah had a psychic-like ability to read emotions.

Micaiah squeezed her hand and smiled, "You've no need to question your abilities. I'm giving you this power because I know they can be trusted."

Jill smiled back, "Thank you that really means a lot."

"I only wish I could ease your heartache," the silver-haired Queen looked into Jill's eyes and spoke sincerely. "But try to rest assured, I believe it will all work out in the end."

Jill nodded, though she knew Micaiah was only trying to be nice.

*************************************************************************************

Haar was angry that Mist and her good for nothing friends couldn't seem to stay out of his business. He was angry that the insufferable woman Sophie had made him late. But he was more angry with himself for allowing the situation to escalate this far. He was convinced his relationship with Jill was beyond fixing, and he knew that it was entirely his fault. He gave her up, and he didn't try to get her back. There was no one else to blame. He approached the courthouse fully aware that it was pointless to go inside—Jill would never forgive him. But he just had to see her.

So he slipped through the door and pushed his way through the crowd to an empty table in the corner. As he sat down he saw Jill stand up and join Micaiah who was behind the podium. He couldn't take his eye off of the graceful figure that was the General's daughter. He listened as she took her oath to dutifully serve the citizens of Talrega and felt his heart swell as he knew how proud her father would have been, how proud he was. He smiled as he watched her kneel before Micaiah, who dubbed her the Duchess by tapping her shoulders with a magnificent sword. But as Jill turned to face the cheering crowd he couldn't help but notice the sadness in her eyes, even from across the room. The guilt threatened to become unbearable and he moved to leave before she saw him but for fear his presence would only make things worse. But as he stood up he saw a familiar face heading towards him.

"I thought I saw you walk in," an angelic voice chimed from a beautiful woman with pale green hair.

"Sigrun," Haar muttered as he sat back down gruffly.

"Now is that any way to greet an old friend?" Sigrun smiled sweetly, "Honestly, after all these years you are still just as ill-mannered as you were back when we were kids."

"What are you doing here?" Haar sneered. He wasn't trying to be irritable, but he was worried Jill would spot him.

"Same as you, I assume," Sigrun wasn't put off at all by his impolite behavior, she found it rather amusing. "Miss Fizzart is being initiated as a Duchess. I'm here to observe the ceremony."

"Why? You hardly know her," he growled.

"There's no need to be such a grouch about it," Sigrun laughed, "However, I did fight in two wars with her. And my family was quite smitten with the Fizzarts back when they still lived in Begnion, in case you've forgotten."

Haar snorted and decided to change the subject, "Shouldn't you be guarding that Apostle brat? Isn't that like, you're sworn duty or something?"

"The Empress Sanaki is fine," Sigrun sat in the chair next to him and pointed towards the open space between the tables and the stage platform. "She's over there with Tanith."

Haar allowed his eye to drift from the figure of Jill to where Sigrun was pointing. Sure enough, the young Empress and her bodyguard were standing in the open area along with Queen Elincia and King Geoffrey of Crimea. A little ways behind them were the newly crowned King Skrimir of Gallia and his loyal aid Ranulf conversing with Sothe and the rest of the Dawn Brigade. A few moments later some minstrels began to play and Queen Nailah of Hatari pulled Rafiel, the Heron prince out into the open to dance. They were soon joined by Leanne and Naesala, Elincia and Geoffrey, Mia and Rhys of the Greil Mercenaries, and several others. Even Lucia gave in to Bastian's wooing (just this once of course, she would later say) to join in the festivities. Haar snorted again and looked at Sigrun, "Do you really think it's such a great idea for so many world leaders to be in the same place?"

"Well I'm sure they all want to show their support," Sigrun mused, "To show that the alliance between Beorc and Laguz stretches to all regions of Tellius."

"Yeah well, if anyone has a problem with the alliance they know where to come," Haar searched the crowd for Jill, who was no longer on the platform. "It makes 'em a lot easier to kill when they're all conveniently located in the same courthouse."

"You worry too much," Sigrun chided. She continued to go on about it, talking about the highly reliable security and her faith in the people of Tellius, but Haar hardly heard her. He couldn't seem to spot Jill. There were too many people. And he couldn't hear her voice, as all he could hear was Sigrun's lecturing and the two laguz behind him.

"What's with all this paired off movement? They look rather silly, don't you think?"

"They're dancing Lord Tibarn. It's a beorc custom."

"So this is dancing, eh? All the times I've been in beorc lands I never once saw it…didn't realize it looked so amusing. Hmmm…your siblings seem to be taking quite well to it."

"I suppose so."

"Well we don't want to rude now do we, Reyson? Shall we join in?"

"Eh…Lord Tibarn, I believe it is a custom traditionally practiced by a male-female pair."

"Ah, I see. Well then, I guess I'll have to find me a girl."

"Why not ask Lethe?"

"Who?"

"Lethe, she's that Gallian general over there with the Duchess. I hear you both have an exquisite taste for Raven blood."

"Lay off already. I told you, I resolved my issues with Naesala. But yes, she will do just fine. Heh, she even looks a little feisty."

Hearing their conversation, Haar began to search the crowd for Lethe since she was apparently with Jill. There were far more beorc present than laguz, and it didn't take him long to spot the yellow cat. Just as Prince Reyson had said, Lethe was standing alongside Jill along with Mist, Marcia, Makalov and Astrid.

*************************************************************************************

Jill stood with her friends, doing her best to appear happy and pleasant. She smiled and shook the hands of all the overjoyed citizens who came up to greet her. She curtsied and expressed how honored she was to all the royalty who attended. All the while she fought back the painful tears as she wondered why he even bothered to come. She had seen him the moment he walked in. She thought maybe he had come to apologize, but he hadn't even looked her way. He was too busy talking to that pegasus knight. _Sigrun_, Jill seethed at the thought of the woman's name. She vaguely remembered one of the wyvern knights telling her once that the Captain had a pegasus knight "friend" back in Begnion. The general consensus of the knights seemed to be that the two were far more than simply friends. She wished it weren't true, but it seemed that he had ditched her to come to the ceremony, the ceremony honoring her, with someone else.

"Oh Makalov, let's go dance," Astrid pulled on the knight's arm. He grinned and followed her clumsily to where everyone was dancing.

Marcia rolled her eyes, "Dancing is so overrated."

At that moment, Kieran walked up to the group and bowed, "Miss Marcia, would you care to dance with me?"

"YES!" Marcia screeched eagerly. Mist and Lethe looked at her skeptically but she ignored them, much too interested in her dancing partner.

"And then there were three," Mist giggled. Jill didn't even seem to notice and Lethe simply shrugged. "Aw come on guys, can't we try to have some fun?"

"I'm only here for Jill," Lethe responded detachedly, her eyes following Ranulf who was tailing Skrimir. The blue cat hadn't said a word to her all afternoon. She was beginning to think that whatever relationship the two of them had wouldn't last much longer. He was always preoccupied with attending to the King.

"Pardon me," a strong hand was placed on Lethe's shoulder, accompanied by a robust voice. She turned around, startled. It wasn't like her to be snuck up on. But she was even more startled by who was doing the sneaking.

"King Tibarn?" Lethe squeaked, in a very kitten-like voice. She wasn't normally intimidated by anything, but the Hawk King was a colossal man, easily as great as the former Lion King, Caineghis. And he had two massive wings protruding from his muscular figure. Not to mention the grisly battle scar that was imbedded across his rugged face. She only allowed herself a moment to take in the awe that was King Tibarn, before composing herself. "Move," she barked at Mist as she stepped aside.

Mist quickly backed up against Jill, bringing the new Duchess to her senses. Seeing Tibarn, Jill curtsied and mumbled her "honored" speech.

Tibarn laughed heartily. "Attending was my honor Duchess, but I was actually going to ask Lethe here if she would care to dance."

All three girls stared at him, astonished.

"Well?" He held out his hand to Lethe.

"I-I-I—"Lethe stammered. Mist elbowed her in the side, and she cautiously took his hand. "Okay," Lethe mewed shyly.

"Wow," Mist shook her head in disbelief as the two laguz departed onto the dance floor.

"…Yeah," Jill too couldn't believe what had just taken place.

"Gosh, it seems like everyone has someone to dance with," Mist observed, "except for us of course."

Jill felt a stinging sensation in her chest as she thought of Haar and Sigrun. Mist couldn't have known the effect of her words, but Jill kept picturing her former Captain and the busty pegasus knight together. Jill wanted more than anything to go home, but she couldn't. It was her party after all.

"Hi Mist. Hi Jill."

Jill looked up to see Boyd. The buff axe-fighter looked a bit comical dressed up in a formal suit. On top of that, he seemed to be sweating rather nervously.

"Um, M-Mist, I was…I was wondering if I could…um…ask you something," the green-haired mercenary scratched the back of his neck anxiously.

"Sure Boyd," Mist smiled cheerily. Jill noticed Boyd blush profusely when the young girl smiled at him.

"Well…uh, I…uh…I know you always get stuck with Rolf since you guys are the youngest and all," Boyd looked down at his feet, "So I…I uh… I thought I'd ask you if you might, um…you know, want to dance with me…you know, s-so you don't have to dance with him."

"Oh," Mist responded softly.

"It—it's okay. I um…I understand," Boyd's whole face was flushed and he was clearly embarrassed. "I—I just thought I'd offer. It's okay if you don't want to."

"Oh no, I do want to!" Mist replied urgently, "But…" She looked over at Jill. She obviously felt bad about leaving her friend alone.

"It's okay, you go ahead," Jill hugged her friend, "You have fun. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Mist knew Jill was still hurt that Haar hadn't shown up, even if she pretended not to be.

"I'm sure," Jill released Mist and pushed her friend towards the axe fighter. "Go on."

Mist nodded her thanks before skipping off with Boyd. Jill smiled. She really was happy for her friends, even if she herself was miserable.

*************************************************************************************

"Are you listening to me?" Sigrun smacked the back of Haar's head.

"What?" He stared at her blankly.

"You are hopeless," she gave him a wide, knowing smile.

"What?" Haar wasn't fond of the look on his old friend's face. She had an awful habit of looking like she knew things she had no business knowing.

"Hmmm…what a shame," Sigrun sighed dramatically.

"I'm not in the mood for you to insult me," Haar scowled.

"I wasn't talking about you," Sigrun rolled her eyes. "I was talking about the Duchess."

"What about her?" Haar tried to sound uninterested. The last thing he needed was Sigrun making him feel worse about the situation with Jill.

"Well, this is her coronation party," Sigrun frowned, "and she seems to be the only one not dancing."

"Hmn," he grunted, trying to stay composed with disinterest.

"Hmm…You know," She looked slyly at the wyvern knight next to her. "_You're_ not dancing either."

He had apparently failed to convince her. But he was certain he had given no sign of his feelings for Jill. The only explanation was sabotage. He moved his gaze slowly over to the woman who sat beside him. "She put you up to this, didn't she? That annoying little Cleric, she can't leave it alone."

"Honestly Haar," Sigrun looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, "I've no idea what you're babbling on about."

"Mist didn't ask you to come talk to me?" Haar eyed her skeptically.

"No."

"Right," Haar wrinkled his nose, "So you just magically have reason to think that I would have an unfounded desire to dance with Jill."

Sigrun stared at him with amazement for a mere moment before she burst out laughing. "Really?" she blurted between snickers, "Unfounded desire?"

"Why is that funny?" Haar gritted his teeth angrily.

"Because," Sigrun managed to stop laughing, but continued to smile with amusement, "you're so naïve."

"What?"

"You may be able to fool others, and maybe even yourself, Haar," Sigrun placed her hand on his arm comfortingly, "But I know you too well."

Haar grunted an unintelligible response, but it was clear from his expression that he was far more than annoyed.

"You think I haven't noticed the way you've been staring at her all day?" Sigrun could tell she was making him uncomfortable. "Or the way your eye always seems to linger whenever she walks by? I noticed that during the Mad King's War. Of course, I suspected you were harboring feelings long before that, from the way you wrote about her in those letters you used to send. The point is, you're in love with her. So go over to her. Ask her to dance. Tell her how you feel."

"Yeah well, don't dish it out if you're not going to eat it," Haar snapped. Sigrun seemed taken aback. He crossed his arms and motioned his head towards her Begnion companions. "Ever thought about following your own advice?"

"Haar…," it was evident by the tone of Sigrun's voice that she was hurt by his comment. "You know I can't do that. Begnion may be unprejudiced against the laguz now…but there are still some things they will not accept."

"Sigrun, I didn't mean to…" Haar felt bad for lashing out at her. He was just so frustrated with himself.

"Don't apologize," Sigrun stood up to leave, "Just keep in mind that _you're_ the only thing keeping you from being happy."

"I know," he admitted sadly as he stood.

Sigrun turned back to him, "Then stop doing this to yourself. Go talk to her."

"You don't understand…What happened, I—"

"It doesn't matter what you did, or what you said," Sigrun smiled up at him warmly, "If she loves you, she'll forgive you. And if not, you're no worse off than you are now."

"Okay," Haar smiled back. Sigrun had a point—a good one, too.

She leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek before walking off to rejoin Tanith and Empress Sanaki. He sincerely wished she would find happiness. He stuck his hands in his pockets, and felt the pouch with the ring inside. Another smile crept onto his lips, as he spotted Jill, standing alone across the room. _What the hell,_ he thought as he headed towards her, _you only live once._

*************************************************************************************

Jill was devastated. That woman had kissed him—she saw her! And he didn't seem to mind at all! She didn't know what to do; it was still too early for her to leave. But she couldn't burst into tears, how would that look? And she definitely wasn't about to confront him and make a huge scene. She looked around desperately, trying to get her mind off of it. She saw Mist and Boyd dancing—well, if you could call it that. Boyd had two left feet. The big oaf kept stepping on Mist's toes. The petite girl must have been in immense pain, but every time he crushed one of her feet she just smiled bigger and more brightly. Jill then looked over towards Lethe and Tibarn, who were…well, making fools out of themselves. Jill wasn't sure if she had ever seen more awful dancing in her entire life. But they seemed to be having fun, and Jill supposed that was all that mattered. However, the more that Jill looked at the happy couples, the sadder she became as she realized she would never have that kind of happiness.

"Hey," a familiar voice rang from behind. Jill turned around.

"Oh…hi," she looked at the speaker, bewildered. "I thought you were…"

"Dancing with Kieran?" Marcia scoffed, "Hmph. All that tenacious loser would talk about was dueling with Oscar. It got old. Fast."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jill couldn't help but be a bit bemused. Kieran was somewhat obsessive about his one-sided rivalry.

"It's cool," Marcia shrugged, "I told him if he liked Oscar so much, he should just go ask him to dance."

Jill smiled. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad. She still had her friends. And now that Marcia wasn't dancing anymore, she wouldn't have to be alone.

"Don't look now," Marcia frowned, "But it looks like we've got ourselves a party-crasher."

"Huh?" Jill turned to see what Marcia was looking at and her heart dropped at a sickening pace. It was Haar. _What could he possibly want?_ She seethed to herself. _Breaking my heart wasn't enough for him? He has to come over here and rub it in my face?_ She looked around, but to her dismay there was no where to go. She was backed into a corner. There was no way out of this. She was going to have to talk to him. _Well, that doesn't mean I have to be nice._

Haar walked up to Jill, smiling. _He's got some nerve, _she thought. He nodded an acknowledgement to Marcia, who in return stuck out her tongue. He ignored her and turned back to Jill, still smiling.

"Hey Jill. You look…"

Jill felt the oncoming dread, _not this again._

"…breathtaking."

_So what? He knows a compound word. Big deal, _she told herself it meant nothing. But in truth her heart had skipped a beat. She looked away a responded in a politely icy voice, "Thank you."

"Look, Jill, I never meant to not show up," Haar 's voice was convincingly apologetic, but Jill knew better. Or so she thought.

"Let me guess," Jill glared at him, "You fell asleep, right?"

"Well, actually…no," he frowned. "I just lost track of the time. Some crazy townswoman was chewing off my ear. I did go to the mansion, only, you had already left. I know that's no excuse, but that's what happened. I am so sorry."

"Oh please," Jill could feel her emotions welling up. "You just didn't want to come with me."

"What?" Haar stared at her incredulously, "Why wouldn't I want to come with you? Jill, I—"

"I'm not stupid," Jill interrupted sourly, "I saw you with her. She was all over you."

"What? Who…?" Haar was baffled about who Jill was talking about. Had she seen him with that townswoman…Sophie? All she had done was punch him…he wasn't overjoyed about that, but it was no reason for anyone to be upset.

"_Sigrun_," Jill spat out the name as if it tasted foul. Jill had expected him to show signs of guilt, maybe even regret. But instead both he and Marcia broke into huge smiles. Jill narrowed her eyebrows at them suspiciously. Had Marcia known about this all along? And failed to mention it to her, even though she knew how Jill felt about Haar?

"Um, whoa. Listen, Jill, you have it all wrong. Sigrun and I…well…we're not…," Haar wasn't really sure how to explain exactly why there was no way anything was going on between him and his childhood friend.

"Yeah, I'm with Cyclops on this one," Marcia was wide-eyed at the mere suggestion, "He's definitely not her type."

"But I saw…" Jill trailed off. What exactly had she seen? The two of them sitting at a table, talking; Sigrun pecking him on the cheek before leaving; Maybe it wasn't exactly as incriminating as she had first thought.

"Trust me, we're just friends," Haar smiled. Jill may have been furious with him, but she was also jealous that he might have been with someone else. And that meant she still cared.

"I'm sorry," Jill felt like a moron, making such ridiculous accusations. Now she really, really wanted to go home before she made more of an idiot of herself. She pulled her shawl tightly around her shoulders and started shuffling her feet, slowly moving away from Marcia and Haar. Maybe she could find a place to hide out until the party was over.

"Wait a sec," Haar grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Jill just looked at him. She couldn't fathom what he could possibly say to make this night any worse, but she was sure that whatever it was, that was exactly what it would do.

"Come on," He led her out to where everyone was dancing and took her hand in his. He slipped his free arm under hers, and she stiffened as she felt his hand on her bare back. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he pulled her closer. She opened her mouth to demand he tell her what exactly was the meaning of this, but at that exact moment he started to move, dragging her along with him. She was forced to grab his bicep with her free hand to keep from falling over, as he wouldn't release her other hand. This caused him to look down at her with a bemused smirk, "You don't have to hold on so tightly."

"Oh," Jill immediately loosened her grip on his arm, "s-sorry."

"You can if you want to," he laughed with regards to her skittishness.

Jill mumbled a nonsensical response, as she had just come to the realization that they, like the people around them, were dancing. The two of them danced in silence for awhile, but just as Jill began to relax Haar spoke.

"I wanted to apologize to you."

"You already did," Jill grumbled, remembering her stupid outburst. "It's fine. I'm over it."

"Not about that," Haar frowned thoughtfully as he considered his words. "I wanted to apologize for not being honest with you."

"About what?" Jill's heart sank yet again. She was about to hear about the dreadful thing he wanted to tell her—the final shovelful of dirt on her grave.

"About wanting you to move out," he explained, his voice still thoughtfully slow, "I should have given you an explanation."

Jill grimaced. She wasn't sure she even wanted to know anymore.

"I thought that I was protecting you. People talk, they spread vile rumors. I didn't want something so petty to be used against you." Haar sighed deeply before continuing, "But, I only ended up hurting you. And the truth is, even though it's only been a few days, and I've seen you everyday, not being with you…or the thought of not being with you…it….I…" He stopped moving and let go of Jill.

She stumbled back a little, but never took her eyes off him. This was the first time she had ever heard him attempt to express any sort of inner feeling. She knew it must be hard for him, and being a person who detested anyone seeing her in an emotional state, she sympathized with him.

"I really am no good at this," he muttered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a leather pouch.

Jill watched curiously as he dumped the contents of the pouch into his hand. He tossed a small, folded up piece of parchment on the floor, but wrapped his fist around something else. He then stepped towards her and took her hand.

"Jill, I love you," Haar murmured.

Jill felt like she was in a daze, and was scarcely conscious of a hard metal object being slipped on her finger. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"And I don't ever want to not be with you." Haar loosened his grip so that just her fingertips were resting in his hand.

She allowed her gaze to drift towards her hand, precariously balanced as it was, and from there it drifted to the glinting object on her finger. Was that…?

"Jill, I want more than anything to spend the rest of my life with you," he paused and took a deep breath, "i-if you'll have me."

Jill didn't say anything at first. She wasn't really sure if it was really happening. Maybe she was imagining it all. Everyone around her was still dancing, completely unaffected. And she was the new Duchess, who just happened to be completely insane. Everyone was still dancing, but as she looked at Haar and the pleading look in his eye, and at her hand still suspended in the air, she knew she wasn't dreaming. And she smiled.

Haar nearly fell down as Jill unexpectedly wrapped her arms around him and sank into him with all her weight. He laughed, "Well I guess that means you will."

"MmmHmm," Jill hugged him tighter. Haar kissed the top of her head, but as soon as he did she slackened her hold on him and pushed him away.

"What?" Haar was flabbergasted. Had she changed her mind? Already?

Jill placed her hands on her hips and gave him one of those evil looks, just as she had done when she was eight. "Is that any way to kiss your fiancée?"

Haar smiled apologetically and took her face in his hands. He spent few moments studying her, taking in her beautiful features, before he leaned down and softly kissed her lips.

*************************************************************************************

**The End!**

**(still gagging on the fluff. but I'll be okay. Eventually.)**

**So yeah…the Sigrun/Haar thing—in PoR Haar tells the surviving wyvern knights he has a Pegasus-knight friend in Begnion. It may have been just some random Pegasus-knight, but I think it's more fun to make it one of the characters. Haar needs more friends.**

**And I try to keep the pairings canon, I'm a firm believer in respecting that the creators intended for certain people to be together and whatnot, but when it comes to characters who don't have a definite/ specific counterpart, I take creative liberties. Hence, LethexTibarn. Why not?**

**(granted, there is the argument that Jill doesn't necessarily marry Haar, for if they get an A support in RD it only says she has a husband and doesn't specifically mention his name. but seriously. She's only going to get married if she's on good terms with Haar. What are the chances that it's with someone else? What does he do, introduce them? I mean…common sense, people. It is heavily implied, and undoubtedly meant to be assumed. If you're not a fan, you're not a fan. But don't bend the facts to fit your twisted reasoning.) **

**So I'm still debating whether or not to add an epilogue. Maybe one of those horridly fluffy-cheesy-corny-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows-Style epilogues. Lol. But seriously, I had one in mind that would partially mimic the first chapter. But I dunno if I should just leave it alone. **


End file.
